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My older dog is now urinating in the house, why?

We have a chow chow mixed breed dog who is 12-13. She has always been a great dog and still is, but is now having some problems: 1) She is urinating in the house 2) She is preoccupied with food. According to the vet, she does not have a UTI or Cushing's.

If she's been tested for Cushing's disease I'll assume that her bloodwork showed no evidence of diabetes or kidney failure, two other reasons for increased urinations and accidents in the house. Were her liver enzymes elevated which led to testing for Cushing's disease? If so liver disease can lead to increased drinking and urinations as well as changes in brain chemistry causing abnormal behavior. If her liver enzymes were up a bile acids test to test liver function as well as an abdominal ultrasound are in order.

Was her urine cultured to look for an infection? In low grade infections the urine is dilute from increased drinking such that evidence of an infection isn't always seen on a screening urinalysis.

If everything on her tests looks fine then it's possible your dog is the early stages of dementia. Drugs such as L-Deprenyl or diets like B/d may help improve her cognitive ability. Discuss these with your veterinarian.

More Questions on Ageing Issues

Cocker Spaniel with lip fold pyoderma
My 13 year old cocker spaniel started having thick green discharge from his mouth and pain 1.5 years ago and it was thought to be dental issues so he had surgery. 2 months after the surgery the problem returned and he has been diagnosed with lip fold pyoderma and is on a continuous round of clavaseptin and clindamycin. The problem never fully goes away and his dosage has gradually been tripled but is flaring up again. Is there anything else it could be or we can do? I don't want to put him down!

Liver Infection
Our 11 and 1/2 year old yellow lab has arthritis in both hips. She has been taking Prevacox. She recently had a blood test to check for liver damage and it came back with elevated white blood cells and elevated hepatic values. She has been put on two antibiotics for two weeks and will then have another blood test. Could the Prevacox have caused the infection or are we looking at something much more serious with the liver?

My pug is eight years old. We've known for a few years that he has a galloping heartbeat. He seems heart healthy otherwise; Energized, and sleeps well. What is the treatmenat for this? Currently he has lost his hearing- suddendly. He has swollen ear cannals, yeast and bacterial infection in both ears. He is on antibiotics and a liquid steroid I put directly in his ears. The vet said it is unlikely his hearing will return. Is there more I should be doing?

MY DOGS BEHAVIOR HAS RECENTLY CHANGED
My dog is a 15 year old beagle. In the last week he has stopped eating his favorite foods unless we feed him by hand. He appears to be having trouble walking and has difficulty gettnig up the back 4 steps to get back into the house. When he does go outside, he just lays on the grass or concrete. His intake of water has been more than cut in half. He apprear to be having some difficulty walking. He no longer barks when someone comes to te door.Is this just old age or should I be concerned. Mark

westie is bleeding
my westie is 12 yrs old and seemed to be in season, she is losing a brown discharge and keeping her tail under which in turn is now all brown and she,s shaking . plse help. she hasn,t been nutetted.

my dog is 14 years old and just all of a sudden went off balanced, eyes twitching, fulling over, and tilting his head what could it be?
my dog is 14 years old and just all of a sudden went off ballenced, eyes twitching, fulling over, and tilting his head what could it be? He seems to be fine in all other aspects eg; eating, drinking, wanting to play.

Spasms or Seizures?
I have a 15 year old mini daschund. For the last 5 days or so she has been having these episodes where her right leg starts twitching uncontrollably, she becomes very uncoordinated, cries due to the pain. This is lasting around 2-3 minutes each time. Took her to the local vet. She was put on an antibiotic and pain med with the thought of being a possible bad tooth infection. When this happens it cause her great pain. but after it passes she regains use of the leg fully. These are happening several times a day.

Dog Couldn't Walk
Last week on Wednesday, I noticed my beloved Lab of 14yr 10 mos was walking wobbly on his legs. The condition didnt get better Thur so Friday i scheduled a vet appt for Saturday. Fri after work he got up ate & went outside and fell over. I picked him up and he fell again( His legs buckled under him.)Carried him 120 lbs in house he laid all night. Back was sensitice to touch around neck.Told could be tumor or disc needed 24hr care we chose to say goodbye. Did we do the right thing ???

I have a ten year old pitt bull who is having many problems please help....
I have a ten year old Pit Bull who is usually in good condition. About a year ago I brought him to the vet for a uti and found that when he was fixed they didnt remove everything, I haven been able to do surgery. But a year later now I have noticed that my dogs tail is limp doesn't move at all, also he has a hard time sitting while going down his back legs shack, but even worse when I let him out he tries to have a bowel movement and i find he is at it for almost ten minutes at a time and barley anything comes out?? What is wrong Oh im sry I forgot he also lost weight but only in his back end his bones are sticking out??? why please help me???

treat or admit defeat?
My 16 yr. old poodle has a dislocated hip. He has cataracts in both eyes, is incontinent and sleeps most of the time even before this happened. Is it worth trying to fix this or would it be more humane to have him put down?

I am not sure what path to take with my shih tzu concerning his kidney stones and urethra blockage.
I just got back from my vet concerning my Shih Tzu. He is 11 years old has an enlarged heart, and a heart mummer. He has always been a little slow to pee and has been that way for aprox 6 years. He recently started only eating a very small amount, losing weight and the other night was showing major signs of discomfort. The vet did just about everything except the ultrasound to determine if one of the kidneys had a stone blocking it. The x-rays shows 4 stones in the kidneys, 1 small stone in the bladder and a blockade of dozens of stones the entire length of his urethra. Right now we have him on meds for the UTI they said he had and pain pills. They tried to flush some of those back up into his kidney but we have not done a second x-ray to see how well that worked. I doubt it did much and was VERY painful for my dog. We are on our third day now and he still will not eat. I am trying to get him on the S/D food to attempt to dissolve the stones but feel it might just be too much to handle for him at once. He does not show interest in his old can or dry food either. The blood tests showed that he was dehydrated so they gave him some fluids and I am making sure he is getting lots of water and frequent bathroom breaks. Surgery is obviously the option in front of us, but I just don't know if we should go down that road with him. And if we do put him through that it could happen again. How invasive or hard on a dog in his condition would the surgery be? The x-rays shows dozens of small stones along his urethra and it appears to me this would require some major work. What would you suggest in this situation. I am planning on trying to clear this UTI up and seeing if he go back to his old self, then switch to the diet and see if we get lucky with the stones dissolving.

Hello, I have a 13 year old coon hound of about 95 lbs. He has several lymphomas, one of which is getting very large on his side just below his right front leg but still is not impacting his movement. I'm worrying about it growing and impacting his movement which seems to begin to be happening. At his age, I'm wondering if I should just let nature take it's course or is it cruel of me to not have it surgically removed.

I have a 13 year old male Australian Shepherd who recently had surgery to cut his nails (he is very volatile). After the surgery he started to have problems with his back legs. Also, In the mornings he is very delusional, and he can't stand up. Once I get him standing, he is able to walk very slowly with a little limp, then after about thirty minutes he returns to himself. I can understand if he has arthritis, however; I don't understand why sometimes he acts so delusional. Could he have h

My 5 1/2 month old Boerboel puppy, who is growing very rapidly, suddenly was battling to stand up and walk on one hind leg. We took him to our local vet who did X-Rays and said he had signs of hip Dysplasia; sockets shallow but no arthritic or other damage. They did an X-Ray on his spine as well and said one part towards the back looked a bit smudgy. Four weeks ago he was in excellent condition. He now has no hip muscle and spine sticks out, falls over, and has pain when I touch waist on opposite side. What can I do?

I have a 13 year old lab beagle mix. He seems to be doing fine health wise but lately has been having really bad shedding issues. He normally has in the past had a few "tufts" on his backside but this time he is shedding like mad and brushing doesnt even help much. The only other thing is he has been losing weight over the past year, which the vet says will come with age and not eating as much.

Have a 18 year old border collie who is weak and throwing up.
This last week he's really gotten weak.still eats but throws up soon after. doesn't seem to be in any pain. I know he has lived way beyond his years. What can i do to make him comfortable?

my dog is a 17 year old mongrel from Asia.
Over past six months, she has become intolerant of walking far. Shivers and rattling of teeth are relieved by regular snacks. her back legs are failing and she is bothered by her tail end but cant reach it. Aspirin helps here. 17 is a good age - dont want her put to sleep/invasive treatment. She still has enough quality life. She has been healthy since I rescued her at 5 years -the normal life expectancy for dogs in that country Can you suggest any more I could be doing - palliative care?

My dog is a mutt (we guess boxer-shepherd-pitbull) and is 8 years old. For the past few months I've noticed that her front legs tremble slightly during our daily walk if she pauses and doesn't have full weight on them. She exhibits no signs of pain, loss of appetite, energy, etc. Could it just be age, or should I make a trip to the vets?

I have a soon to be 15 year old female Pekingese who has been suffering with a mysterious pain that seems to give her a sharp jolt.We've done everything but an MRI since my vet feels if it is a brain tumor there wouldn't be much that could be done.This happened overnight back in December. As of now my vet has narrowed it down to a brain tumor or a case of TMJ. She also started showing signs of doggie alzheimers along with this pain but I've read pain WILL cause these symptoms too. HELP!!!

Hi, thanks for reading this!My dog is a Mixed Black Lab, and is a 12 year old male.24/7 My dog's behind legs shake non-stop. When he's sleeping, walking, running, or just doing anything they shake non-stop.When my dog lays down or goes to sleep, he whimpers non-stop.And since 4 years ago he is really scared of loud noises, and is scared of water.I've also noticed my dog doesn't eat as much or drink as much water as he did before.Thanks for your time!

In the past two days I have found small amounts of my dogs urine inside. He is breathing hard but has been for some time. The vet looked at him a month ago for an other issue and was not concerned about the breathing issue. I am concerned regarding the urination issue. What could it be?

My 12 1/2 year old bouvier has arthritis in her spine and possibly degenerative myelopathy. She also has elevated liver readings on last CBC. She has trouble with her back legs and her feet knuckle under. I have to help her get in the car and also with steps. Otherwise she seems very healthy and in no pain. She is on tramadol 2x day and adequan. Vets want me to do tests on her liver and spine etc. I don't want her remaining days to be stressful with tests/surgery. What do you think? Thanks

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